Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 206: Shattering truth (1)

In the early hours of the next day, Dante sat on the edge of the bed watching Ophelia rest.

There was plenty he needed to do to prepare for his outing with Kaden to visit the palace, while also making plans to keep the castle guarded in his absence so that Ophelia would be safe.

Dante worried about Ophelia’s well-being despite knowing that she would be most protected in the castle.

’She needs more guards,’ Dante thought.

Only then could Dante’s mind be at ease.

Dante also worried about being away from Ophelia because she would need someone to comfort her once Theo shared his plans.

’Should I tell him to wait?’ Dante wondered. He didn’t want to be away from Ophelia when she would need him the most.

"Why are you sitting at the edge of the bed with an expression as though you have a tough decision to make?" Dante heard Ophelia’s groggy voice. She wasn’t fully awake.

Ophelia rolled onto her side to be closer to Dante.

"I needed to wake early to get food for you. You fell asleep without your dinner," said Dante.

Ophelia rubbed her eyes before opening them. "I can wait until everyone’s food is served in the morning. You must get back in bed. You made great efforts to get me into your bed, and now you won’t stay in bed. Why? Is it because you have got what you wanted?" Ophelia asked as a joke.

"That couldn’t be any further from the truth. I will need to wake early for the next few days to train the men, oversee the supplies for the journey, and plan the attack. This is part of my duties as Lord Hastings. You might be unfortunate to bear with this more than once," said Dante.

Ophelia sat up, holding a blanket to cover herself. "Then, I will wake up early with you."

"You don’t-"

"I wasn’t asking for your permission, Dante. I was telling you what I plan to do. I cannot help you plan a war, but I can find ways to help safeguard the castle," Ophelia said.

"While you are away, I will be the one left in charge of keeping the castle safe. I need time to prepare for sudden attacks. How do I get out, or where could enemies slip in?" Ophelia pointed out.

"I see. You are very wise. Do you not want to be involved in plotting how to kill a king? I’ve had men at my side for years who are not as wise as you are."

"As fun as that sounds, I must use my knowledge to keep the castle safe in your absence. You must lean on Kaden for plans. Is it normal for your back to ache?" Ophelia inquired, her body still sore from last night’s events.

There were no signs that her body would be sore in the heat of the moment, so why did she feel like this now?

"Come here. I can massage your body for you," Dante offered.

Ophelia shook her head. "I am going to stay out of your arms for the next few hours, or I’ll end up back in the position that gave me a sore back," said Ophelia.

Ophelia slowly moved to sit at the edge of the bed with Dante.

"There is something to address about last night. As wonderful as it was, you didn’t pull away. What if we were to end up with a child?"

"It wouldn’t be so bad to have one in the distant future," Dante answered without hesitation. "Just not now, when the kingdom will face many battles."

Dante’s response puzzled Ophelia.

"I do not understand. We agreed not to have children. What has changed?"

"The curse. If it has been broken, then I am open to having children if you change your mind. I will not force you all because I am leaning towards it now. I am letting you know now that my mind is changing," said Dante.

"I do not believe I would be a good mother. Theo said I should be thankful not to be raised by Giselle to become like her. Still, I am not confident that I could be a good mother," Ophelia said, having many doubts.

"I share your feelings. I have never been anyone’s father, so I wonder how well I would do. It would be a learning experience. We would make mistakes, but I’m sure we would be well. Don’t think of it too much now," Dante said as he reached for Ophelia’s hand.

Dante lifted Ophelia’s hand to kiss the back of it. He then thought of their wedding bands. They both needed to change since they were given because of the truce.

Dante wanted new wedding bands made because their marriage now had nothing to do with the truce, and Ophelia deserved better.

"Perhaps it would have been best to have this talk before we got a little too carried away last night," said Ophelia.

"I know that because I did most of raising Theo, everyone might think I could be a good mother, but I don’t see it. I worried every step of the way, and I failed to place Theo in a better position. It was an awful feeling," Ophelia confessed.

Ophelia didn’t feel as though she had done as well as she could have.

"She was awful, but at some point, every little girl needed their mother. I hate that this still crosses my mind," Ophelia said, annoyed she still craved motherly affection, so she knew what it looked like.

It was disappointing with the way Cecilia turned out, as Ophelia would have loved to experience what she lacked with Giselle through interactions with Cecilia.

"Children aren’t on my mind now, and I am not going to lie, all because you are open to it. We also must wait for another full moon to see what happens then. Is the beast gone completely, though you still feel it? Can you control it, or must I keep helping you to change?" Ophelia pointed out the questions they needed answers to.

"What if you are no longer a beast, but it were to pass on to a child, should we have one? You must visit Ester when you return to the castle, and I must rid myself of the thoughts I have now. I must ask Mary for advice. She is the only mother I know and trust," said Ophelia.

Ophelia didn’t want to bring a child into the world until she was certain it was what she desired, and she had confidence she could be a good mother.

"You mustn’t rush it. I only answered honestly to what you asked. I don’t want us to plan to have a child anytime soon. We should enjoy that it is just the two of us now and keep growing closer. We have time to consider growing our family or not," Dante said, willing to wait.

Whether just the two of them for the rest of their lives, or with children, Dante was satisfied. Ophelia alone gave him reason to look forward to the future.